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Monaco

Princess Charlene of Monaco absent from latest family gathering

The Monaco Princely Family came out in full force during the weekend for the first International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo since the start of the pandemic. 

Prince Albert and his two children, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, attended the circus on the Sunday, but Princess Charlene was notably absent.

The Princess has suffered from ill health in recent years, although her absence is not in itself concerning.

Royal Central’s Europe Editor, Brittani Barger, reports that Charlene rarely attended the circus, even before her illness and the pandemic.

Prince Albert joined Princess Stéphanie and two of her children for the premiere of the Festival on the Friday. The Sovereign, his sister, Louis & Marie Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb were all seen sporting the festival’s official scarf, white with the official logo.

Marie Ducruet is pregnant with the couple’s first child, a baby girl that should be making her appearance into this world in the spring.

The next day, Princess Stéphanie was accompanied by her niece, Charlotte Casiraghi, and her son Raphaël Elmaleh Casiraghi for the second night of Festival performances.

It was on the Sunday where Prince Albert came back to the Festival accompanied by his twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.

The 2023 edition of the Festival is the first one to be held with full attendance allowed since the beginning of health safety restrictions, that halted the 2021 and 2022 editions. It runs from Friday, 20th to Sunday 29th of January, and will see the awarding of the traditional gold, silver and bronze clowns, one of the most prestigious prizes in the circus scene in the world.

The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo was created in 1974 by then-Sovereign Prince Rainier III to reward the best circus performers on the international scene. Since 2006, the Presidency of the Festival passed into the hands of Princess Stéphanie, who has always shown a keen interest in the art form. She was married to trapeze artist Adans Lopes Perez between 2003 and 2004, having also been in a relationship with elephant trainer Franco Knie.